IRS 407 : Contemporary Strategic Study

MODULE FOUR: Evolution of Strategic Thinking

Prof. K.O. Olayode (Ph.D. Cantab.)

[email protected]
09060651048
Course Instructor

February 26, 2021.

Introduction: Evolution of Strategic Thinking
❖ War has always been the defining factor in the
evolution of strategic thinking. There have always
been wars and men with curiosity of horror and
adventure have always been interested in them.

❖ Evolution may implies a qualitative improvement

as well as progressive development and unfolding
of strategic thinking over the ages from the Pre-
Napoleonic era to the contemporary period.
Strategic thinking in the Pre-Napoleonic Era
❖ Early contributions to strategic thinking about war and strategy
are Sun Tzu, Thucydides and Machiavelli
❖ Strategy in the pre-Napoleonic era had three major
characteristics:
✓ Strategy was mainly characterized by limited wars – fought to
achieve limited objectives
✓ Weapons were mainly rudimentary and crude
✓ Strategy thinking was purely the act of military generals and
strategists without inputs from civilian policy makers
Notable Strategists in Pre-Napoleonic Era : Sun Tzu
❖ Sun Tzu was a Chinese general, military strategist, writer and
philosopher who lived in the Eastern Zhou period of ancient China.
Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, an
influential work of military strategy that has affected both Western
and East Asian philosophy and military thinking.
❖ The Art of War is a Chinese treatise written during the 6th century B.C
by Sun Tzu. Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one
aspect of warfare. The Art of War has long been praised as the definitive
work on military strategies of the Pre-Napoleonic Era. The Art of War is
one of the oldest books on military strategy in the world. It is the first
and one of the most successful works on strategy and has had a huge
influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business planning,
and beyond. Sun Tzu was the first strategist to recognize the importance
of positioning in strategy and that position is affected both by objective
conditions in the physical environment and the subjective opinions of
competitive actors in that environment.
❖ The Art of War is divided into 13 chapters and the chapters are listed
thus
Notable Strategists in Pre-Napoleonic Era : Sun Tzu
1. Laying Plans
2. Waging Wars
3. Attack by Stratagem
4. Tactical Dispositions
5. Energy
6. Weak and Strong Points
7. Maneuvering
8. Variation in Tactics
9. The Army on the March
10. Terrain
11. The Nine Situations
12. The Attack by Fire
13. The Use of Spies
Notable Strategists in Pre-Napoleonic Era : Thucydides
❖ Thucydides was a Greek historian who lived between C.464
and 401 BC which afforded him the privilege to document the
wars between the two rival Greek city states Athens and Sparta
known as “ Peloponnesian War”.
❖ Although, Thucydides did not live to complete his writing on
his 8th book in mid-411 BC, his work has been described by
scholars as the first great history of warfare. He made case for
the adoption of rational strategy by belligerent nations in order
to avoid war. In the phase 1, 2 and 3 of the study, which he
made after the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides’ findings
revealed how instructive and profitable it is to know how
resources are applied to objectives by combatants and how
combatants could make up for their deficient resources through
military alliances or defence pacts
Notable Strategists in Pre-Napoleonic Era : Machiavelli
❖ Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian Renaissance
diplomat, philosopher and writer, best known for The Prince,
written in 1513. He has often been called the father of modern
political philosophy and political science
❖ Machiavelli's name came to evoke unscrupulous acts of the sort he
advised most famously in The Prince. Machiavelli considered
political battles, not through a lens of morality, but as though they
are a board game with established rules. His experience showed him
that politics have always been played with deception, treachery and
crime. He also notably said that a ruler who is establishing a
kingdom or a republic, and is criticized for his deeds, including
violence, should be excused when the intention and the result is
beneficial.
❖ Machiavelli’s Prince was much read as a manuscript long before it was
published in 1532 and the reaction was mixed. Some considered it a
straightforward description of the evil means used by bad rulers; others
read in it evil recommendations to tyrants to help them maintain their
power
Strategic Thinking in the Age of Napoleon
❑ The period of Napoleonic warfare has been generally considered
to be a useful beginning for students of modern strategy. It was
the beginning of an era of total war in which warfare was
nourished by nationalism and ideological convictions.
❑ Napoleonic era also saw warfare being equipped with products of
industrial revolution
❑ The concept of strategy also changed from being “the art of the
general” to the business of arranging or mobilizing the entire
national resources and disposition for warfare
Strategist in the Napoleonic Era : Karl Von Clausewitz
❖ Karl Von Clausewitz has been regarded to be the first modern
Strategist. His chief work “Vom Kriege” (On War),published in 1832
has been recognized in many countries to be a definitive document on
strategy. The work covers a wide range of subjects from the philosophical
to the minutely practical details on warfare. It deals with the nature of
war, theory of war, the interplay of theory and practice, the relationship
between war and politics, the object of strategy, the relationship
between the civilians and military leadership, the psychological aspect
of warfare, battles, tactics and military history
❖ Clausewitz's importance lies largely in the fact that he has been the
leading exponent of what has been called “ the philosophy of war". This
is the view that war is rational, national and instrumental. Clausewitz
also stressed the intrinsic relationship between ends and means as
expressed in his famous dictum “ war is nothing more than a
continuation of politics by other means” . In his study of means, the
analysis of physical capabilities is a key consideration
❖ However, Clausewitz has been criticized for rationalization of violence
and thus dubbed as ‘ Apostle of Violence”
 Characteristics of Strategy in the Age of Napoleon
❖ Technological factors aided the growth of fire power and the
increasing speed and efficiency of transport and communication
❖ Products of industrial revolution were adapted and deployed for
warfare
❖ The growth of Naval power demonstrated by Great Britain
through Pax Britannica ( British peace) brought about by sea
power and the Royal Navy
❖ The influence of geography (environment & weather) became
pronounced
❖ General coordination between strategy and supporting services –
transport, communication, engineering, healthcare, supplies etc
❖ General mobilization ( Total war) of national resources to
propagate warfare
❖ Mechanized warfare ( Blitzkrieg) – lightening war/attack
❖ Introduction of airpower ( air force) and aerial bomabardment
Era of Total Warfare (First & Second World Wars)
▪ Unprecedented destruction
▪ Total mobilization
▪ Utilization of science and technology ( Nuclear and
biological warfare)
▪ Airpower and strategic bombardment
▪ Sea power, aircraft carrier, submarine all changed the face
of warfare
▪ Importance of logistics to warfare
▪ National strategy
Contemporary Strategy: From Warfare to Peace Movement
❖ Beginning from 1950s/1960s – development of powerful
atomic/hydrogen bombs
❖ Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM)
❖ Chemical and Biological Weapons
❖ Effects of Weapon development and Warfare on Economy
❖Unwinnable nature of war
❖ Arms limitation Treaties ( SALT 1, 2, START 1,2, etc)
❖Peace Movement
❖ Peace Strategy